About the Pandora Papers - ICIJ

ICIJ's publication of Pandora Papers stories comes at a critical moment in a global debate over the fairness of the international tax system, ... ThePandoraPapersinvestigationlaysbaretheglobalentanglementofpoliticalpowerandsecretiveoffshorefinance. Baseduponthemostexpansiveleakoftaxhavenfilesinhistory,theinvestigationrevealsthesecretdealsandhiddenassetsof morethan330politiciansandhigh-levelpublicofficialsinmorethan90countriesandterritories,including35countryleaders.Ambassadors,mayorsandministers, presidentialadvisers,generalsandacentralbankgovernorappearinthefiles. TheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists,anonprofitnewsroomandnetworkofjournalistscenteredinWashington,D.C.,obtainedmorethan11.9millionfinancialrecords,containing2.94terabytesofconfidentialinformationfrom14offshoreserviceproviders,enterprisesthatsetupandmanageshellcompaniesandtrustsintaxhavensaroundtheglobe. Thefilesrevealsecretoffshoreholdingsofmorethan130billionairesfrom45countriesincluding46Russianoligarchs.In2021,accordingtoForbes,100ofthebillionaireshadacollectivefortuneofmorethan$600billion.Otherclientsincludebankers,bigpoliticaldonors, armsdealers,internationalcriminals,popstars,spychiefsandsportinggiants. ICIJsharedthefileswith150mediapartners,launchingthebroadestcollaborationinjournalismhistory. Supportindependentjournalism Doyoubelievejournalismcanmakeadifference?Forjust$15/monthyoucanhelpexposethetruthandholdthepowerfultoaccount. Donate Fornearlytwoyears,ICIJorganizedandledaninvestigationthatgrewtoencompassmorethan600journalistsin117countriesandterritories.ReportersfollowedleadstoacliffsidemansioninCalifornia,asugarplantationintheDominicanRepublic,apollutingfactoryinItaly,high-risetowersinDubaiandaTurkishhospitalwhereworkersallegedmistreatment. Thedocumentsspanfivedecades,withmostcreatedbetween1996and2020.Theyincludeinformationonmorethan29,000beneficialowners,theultimateownersofoffshoreassets.ThatismorethantwicethenumberofownersfoundfiveyearsagointhePanamaPapersinvestigation,whichwasbasedonaleakfromasinglelawfirm. Whileowninganoffshorecompanyislegal,thesecrecyitprovidescangivecovertoillicitmoneyflows,enablingbribery,moneylaundering,taxevasion,terrorismfinancingandhumantraffickingandotherhumanrightsabuses,expertssay.ThePandoraPapersofferfreshinsightsintointernationalcorruptionscandals,includingthefar-reachingbriberyoperationofBraziliancontractinggiantOdebrechtS.A.,theinternationalsoccerscandalknownasFIFAGateandtheallegedlootingofVenezuelanpublicassets. Poornationsaredisproportionatelyharmedbythestashingofwealthintaxhavens,whichstarvestreasuriesoffundstopayforroads,schoolsandhospitals.ThePandoraPapersproberevealsthatinternationalleaderswhocouldtackleoffshoretaxavoidancehavethemselvessecretlymovedmoneyandassetsbeyondthereachoftaxandlawenforcementauthoritiesastheircitizensstruggle. Currentandformerleaderswhohaveownedsecretcompaniesandtrusts,asrevealedbythePandoraPapersinvestigation,includeKingAbdullahIIofJordan,theprimeministersofCôted’IvoireandtheCzechRepublic,thepresidentsofEcuador,KenyaandGabonandtheformerpresidentsofElSalvador,Panama,ParaguayandHonduras. ThefilesalsoshedlightonthefinancialdealingsofChavistasinVenezuela,fugitivecultleadersandtheirfollowers,kleptocratsandtheirfamilies,neo-Nazis,amineralwaterdealerconvictedofsolicitingthemurdersofajudgeandaprosecutor, afugitivemillionairepedophileandterrorismfinanciers. OtherplayersinthePandoraPapers’globalcastincludeaBitcoinczarsentencedformoneylaunderinginconnectionwiththelargestcyberheistinhistory.AndoffshoreinvestmentswerelinkedtoBollywoodactors,soccerstars,corruptsports’officials,aking’slover,feudingprincesses,moviedirectorsandstars,supermodels,acclaimeddesignersandworld-famoussingers. WecalltheprojectPandoraPapersbecausethiscollaborationbuildsuponthelegacyofthePanamaandParadisePapers,andtheancientmythofPandora’sBoxstillevokesanoutpouringoftroubleandwoe. Wanttoknowwhenwepublish? Helpuschangetheworld.Getourstoriesbyemail. ThereportingshowshowtheUnitedStates,inparticular,hasbecomeanincreasinglyattractivedestinationforhiddenwealth,althoughtheU.S.anditsWesternalliescondemnsmallercountriesforallowingtheflowofmoneyandassetstiedtocorruptionandcrime. ThePandoraPapersincludedocumentsfrom206U.S.trustsin15statesandWashington,D.C.,and22U.S.trusteecompanies. ThedocumentsprovidedetailsaboutthemovementofhundredsofmillionsofdollarsfromoffshorehavensintheCaribbeanandEuropeintoSouthDakota,asparselypopulatedAmericanstatethathasbecomeamajordestinationforforeignmoney. ReportingbyICIJanditspartnerschallengestheoffshoreindustry’sclaimsthatserviceprovidersjudiciouslyvetclientsandstrivetoactwithinthelaw,andithighlightsthecost tothepublicinterestoflettingtherichandpowerfulshieldtheirwealthfromthelaw. ThereportingrevealshowthelargestlawfirmintheU.S.,BakerMcKenzie,helpedcreatethemodernoffshoresystem,andhowanotherlawfirm,AlcogalinPanama,hasplayedanoutsizeroleinsustainingit. Itshowshowlittle-knowncorporateserviceprovidershaveaidedthefinancialmaneuversofpeoplefacingcriminalinvestigationsorcostlycivillawsuits,includinganexecutiveofaBelgianchemicalcompanyaccusedofenvironmentalcrimesandaFloridaaccompliceoftheColombocrimefamily. Anditshowshowoffshorefirmsareusedtoconcealtheprovenanceofartandantiquities.Thereportingteamfoundthatdozensofancientrelicsremainondisplayinprominentmuseumsdespitehavingbeenlinkedtoacelebratedcollectorlatersuspectedofsmugglingonagrandscale. OnenotablydishearteninglineofinquiryinvolvessecretinvestorsinoneofthebiggestcorporatelandlordsintheU.S.Theseinvestorsareprofitingfromevictionscarriedoutinthemidstofaglobalpandemic.AndtheyincludetrustsholdingmillionsdevotedtotheLegionofChrist,aRomanCatholicreligiousorderdisgracedbyaninternationalsex-abusescandal. The14offshoreserviceproviderswhosedocumentsmakeupthePandoraPapersdatasetincludethreeownedbyformergovernmentofficials.Theyoperateinjurisdictionsincluding Anguilla,Belize,Singapore,Switzerland,Panama,Barbados,Cyprus,theUnitedArabEmirates,theBahamas,theBritishVirginIslands,theSeychellesandVietnam,andtheydrawclientsfrommorethan200countriesandterritories. Therecords,whichhaveconnectionstomorethan30,000companies, areinmanylanguages,includingEnglish,Spanish,Chinese,Korean,GreekandRussian.Thebeneficialownersaretiedto27,000companies. Theyincludespreadsheets,taxdeclarations,invoices,PowerPointpresentations,emailsandcompanyrecordslistingdirectorsandshareholders.Theyalsoincludesuspiciousactivityreports,sanctionslists,duediligencereports,know-your-customerforms,passports,utilitybillsandphotos. Theyrevealdetailsofinternationalenergy,technologyandpropertyholdingsanddeals,aswellascomplexinheritancearrangements. Thereporting teamscouredanddisentangledlabyrinthineownershipnetworksbehindcountlesscompanies,foundationsandtrusts.ThedocumentsweresharedinasecuredatabasebuiltbyICIJcalledDatashareandfindingsthroughasecureplatformcalledtheGlobaliHub. ICIJ’spublicationofPandoraPapersstoriescomesatacriticalmomentinaglobaldebateoverthefairnessoftheinternationaltaxsystem,theroleofWesternprofessionalsintheshadoweconomyandthefailureofgovernmentstostanchtheflowofdirtymoneyintohiddencompaniesandtrusts. ThePandoraPapersareexpectedtoyieldnewrevelationsforyearstocome. ThePandoraPapersinvestigationisbroughttoyouby: TheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists Director:GerardRyle Managingeditor:FergusShiel Senioreditors:BenHallman,MichaelHudson,DeanStarkman Editors: MiaZuckerkandel,TomStites Dataeditor:EmiliaDíaz-Struck Reporters:ScillaAlecci,JelenaCosic,WillFitzgibbon,SydneyP.Freedberg,MargotGibbs,KathrynKranhold,BrendaMedina,MaggieMichael,MaliaPolitzerandSpencerWoodman Datareporters:DeniseHassanzadeAjiri,AgustinArmendariz,JelenaCosic,JesúsEscudero,MiguelFiandor,MarcosGarcíaRey,JohnKeefe,KarrieKehoe,DelphineReuter,MagoTorresandMargotWillams Associateeditorsandfactcheckers:RichardH.P.Sia,KathleenCahill,LauraBullardandMiriamPensack Onlineeditor:HamishBoland-Rudder Digitaleditor:AsraaMustufa Digitalproducer:CarlosMonteiro Additionalreporting:KatieMcQue Copyeditor:JoeHillhouse Webdeveloper:AntonioCuchoGamboa Chieftechnologyofficer:PierreRomera Technologyteam:SolineLedésert, MiguelFiandor,BrunoThomas,AnneL’Hôte,MadelineO’Leary,MaximeVanzaLutaonda,WhitneyAwanayahandAshGuevara Trainingmanager:JelenaCosic Contributor:DouglasDalby Designandillustration:Inkyfada(MarwenBenMustapha,HathemiSmedhi,TaymaBenAhmedandteam) ICIJinterns:SeanMcGoey, AnishaKohliandFakharDurrani Meettheteam:Morethan600reportersfromaroundtheworldworkedtogetheronthePandoraPapers. PandoraPapersmediapartners: BIRN(Albania) Twala(Algeria) DiarioLaNación(Argentina) elDiarioAR(Argentina) Infobae(Argentina) Hetq(Armenia) ABC(Australia) AustralianFinancialReview(Australia) ORF(Austria) PROFIL(Austria) Belsat(Belarus) DeTijd(Belgium) KNACK(Belgium) LeSoir(Belgium) OCCRP(Bosnia,Cyprus,HongKong,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Ukraine,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStates) InkCenterforInvestigativeJournalism(Botswana) AgênciaPública(Brazil) Metrópoles(Brazil) Poder360(Brazil) RevistaPiauí(Brazil) BIRD(Bulgaria) L’EconomisteDuFaso(BurkinaFaso) VOD(Cambodia) TheMusebaProject(Cameroon) CBC/RADIOCANADA(Canada) TorontoStar(Canada) CiperChile(Chile) FundaciónPeriodísticaLaBot(Chile) CONNECTAS(Colombia) ElEspectador(Colombia) NationalMagazineComores(Comoros) CentroLatinoamericanodeInvestigaciónPeriodística(CLIP)(CostaRica,Colombia) CostaRicaNoticias,Canal13(CostaRica) EburnieToday(Coted’Ivoire) L’ElephantDechaine(Coted’Ivoire) ProyectoInventario(Cuba) CzechCenterforInvestigativeJounralism(CzechRepublic) Berlingske(Denmark) DanishBroadcastingCorporation(Denmark) Politiken(Denmark) NoticiasSIN(DominicanRepublic) DiarioElUniverso(Ecuador) MadaMadmasr(Egypt) ElFaro(ElSalvador) DiarioRombe(EquatorialGuinea) EESTIPÄEVALEHT(Estonia) Yle–FinnishBroadcastingCompany(Finland) LeMonde(France,Cameroon) PremièresLignes(France) RadioFrance(France) iFact(Georgia) NDR(Germany) SüddeutscheZeitung(Germany) WDR(Germany) GhanaBusinessNews(Ghana) ZAMIREPORTS(Ghana) PlazaPública(Guatemala) Contracorriente(Honduras) StandNews(HongKong) Direkt36(Hungary) ReykjavikMedia(Iceland) Stundin(Iceland) IndianExpress(India) Tempo(Indonesia) TheIrishTimes(Ireland) Shomrim(Israel) L’ESPRESSO(Italy) AsahiShimbun(Japan) KyodoNews(Japan) ARIJ(Jordan,Egypt,Lebanon,Palestine,Syria,Yemen) AfricaUncensored(Kenya) TheElephant(Kenya) Re:Baltica(Latvia) DarajMedia(Lebanon) DailyObserverNewspaper(Liberia) FrontPageAfrica(Liberia) Siena.lt(Lithuania) Reporter.lu(Luxembourg) NationPublicationsLTD(Malawi) PlatformforInvestigativeJournalism(PIJ-Malawi)(Malawi) Malaysiakini(Malaysia) MalianNetworkofInvestigativeJournalists(Mali) TimesofMalta(Malta) L’Express(Mauritius) Proceso(Mexico) QuintoElementoLab(Mexico) MANS(Montenegro) LeDesk(Morocco) TheNamibian(Namibia) CIJNepal(Nepal) KantipurDaily(Nepal) HetFinancieeleDagblad(Netherlands) PlatformInvestico(Netherlands) Trouw(Netherlands) NZME(NewZealand) TVNZ(NewZealand) Confidencial(Nicaragua) L’Evenement(Niger) PremiumTimes(Nigeria) Aftenposten(Norway) E24(Norway) TheNews(Pakistan) GrupoABCColor(Paraguay) Convoca(Peru) IDL-Reporteros(Peru) PhilippineCenterofInvestigativeJournalism(Philippines) Rappler(Philippines) GazetaWyborcza(Poland) EXPRESSO(Portugal) CentroDePeriodismoInvestigativo(PuertoRico) Rise(Romania,Moldova) istories(Russia) Impact.sn(Senegal) KRIK(Serbia) OŠTRO(Slovenia,Croatia) amaBhunganeCentreforInvestigativeJournalism(SouthAfrica) CarteBlanche(SouthAfrica) Newstapa(SouthKorea) ElPaís(Spain,Mexico) LaSexta(Spain) SVT(Sweden) TAMEDIA(Switzerland) JamiiMedia(Tanzania) IsraNewsAgency(Thailand) DeCive(LeCitoyen)etLaLettreAgricole(Togo) FlambeaudesDemocrates(Togo) L’UnionpourlaPatrie(Togo) QuoditienLiberte(Togo) Inkyfada(Tunisia) DeutscheWelle(Turkey) NMGUganda(Uganda) Slidstvo(Ukraine) BBC(UnitedKingdom) FinanceUncovered(UnitedKingdom,Kenya) PBSFrontline(UnitedStates) PrivateEye(UnitedKingdom) TheGuardian(UnitedKingdom,Australia,UnitedStates) ElNuevoHerald(UnitedStates) McClatchy(UnitedStates) MiamiHerald(UnitedStates) Spotify(UnitedStates) TheWashingtonPost(UnitedStates) TheWireChina(UnitedStates) Univision(UnitedStates,Mexico) SemanarioBúsqueda(Uruguay) Armando.info(Venezuela) MakandayMedia(Zambia) OFFSHORESECRECY WebofcorruptionaroundIsabeldosSantosstillbeinguntangledtwoyearsafterLuandaLeaks Jan24,2022 IMPACT Sen.WarrendemandsprofitandrentfiguresfromcompaniesfollowingPandoraPapersrevelations Jan14,2022 PANDORAPAPERS TechtitansurrendersCambodianrelicssoldbyindicteddealeramidbroaderrepatriationpush Jan12,2022 IMPACT PakistanandIndiaprobehundredsofPandoraPapersnames Jan03,2022 IMPACT ProposedEUdirectivetargetsshellcompaniesafterPandoraPapersexposedoffshoresystemabuses Dec24,2021 COLLABORATION AroundupofPandoraPapersreportingfromEasternEurope Dec22,2021 ICIJisdedicatedtoensuringallreportswepublishareaccurate.Ifyoubelieveyouhavefoundaninaccuracyletusknow. 1800MStreetNW,Front1#33019 Washington,D.C.20033USA [email protected] Aboutus Ourteam ICIJmembers Mediapartners Supportus InsideICIJ Investigations PandoraPapers FinCENFiles LuandaLeaks ChinaCables MauritiusLeaks Moreinvestigations Followus Newsletter Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS Alltopics ©2021—TheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists. 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